Before In a Mirror, Darkly
by R-Alex-J
Summary: I decided to explore what the ISS Enterprise NX-01 was doing in the mirror universe at the same time as the prime NX-01. It's very similar to the prime adventures but with different results achieved with a different captain.
1. Cogenitor 1

_Captain's starlog January 23 2153. We have broken off from the assault fleet to study a hypergiant star. It is possible we have company._

As he saw the triangular wedge cruising past the giant fireball, Commander Archer nodded to the communications officer. "Hail them."

Hoshi, as busy as always, tapped a few buttons and studied her monitor, but it was no uise. "The interference is pretty heavy, sir."

"Then try audio. This is First Officer Archer of the Imperial Starship _Enterprise_. I assume you've detected us."

"Captain Drennik," replied an unknown yet strangely familiar voice. "Where have you travelled from?"

"The Sol system. And you?"

"We come from a system called Vissia, more than twenty five light years from here. We saw you arrive yesterday. I assume you're here to study the hypergiant."

"The Empire has never seen one up close. "

"It is quite a sight. Have you measured its rate of nucleosynthesis?"

Suddenly, the turbolift door swished open and out came Captain Maximilian Forrest with his personal guard. "I'll take over. I'm sorry, Captain Drennik, for my first officer's impetuousness. I'm Captain Forrest."

"No apologies necessary, Captain. I was just asking if your ship has measured the hypergiant's nucleosynthesis."

"The Empire currently does not have the technology to do that."

"If you don't mind eliminating the development stage, I'd be more than happy to help you modify your sensors."

Forrest rubbed his hands and smiled at Hoshi, the captain's woman. New technology! "Thank you. What can we offer you in return."

"You could invite us to visit your ship. Meeting new species is one of our primary goals."

"It's one of ours as well," Archer said from his usual seat at the helm. "We'd be honoured to have you join us for dinner."

"We'll be there within the hour. I look forward to it."

Hoshi cut off the transmission. From the other side of the bridge, a Terran with a severely deformed head snorted and said, "It'll be nice to have a First Contact where no one's thinking about charging weapons."

Archer looked at Forrest and then said to Hoshi, "Tell Chef we're going to have some visitors.

* * *

 _It's been a long road, getting from there to here._

 _It's been a long time, but empire's finally near._

 _And we will see our dream come alive at last. We will touch the sky._

 _And they're not gonna hold us down no more, no they're not gonna change our mind._

 _Cause we've got faith of Terra._

 _We're going where conquest will take us._

 _We've got faith to believe. We can do anything._

 _We've got strength of the soul. And no one's gonna bend or break us._

 _We can take any star._

 _We've got faith._

 _We've got faith, faith of the heart._

* * *

 _Captain's starlog supplemental. I have agreed that Commander Archer will accompany Drennik in the Vissian stratopod. After all, I'll be rid of him for a few days at least._

In the mess hall, the scarred engineer with a droopy eyelid known as Charles Tucker held the attention of two of the Vissians. He had ice cream for them. "This is called vanilla and this is chocolate. Give it a try."

The women, Traistana and Veylo, smiled and dipped their spoons into the edge.

"Oh no, wait. You've got to eat the cherry first. This."

"Why?" Traistana asked.

"Because we say so."

"A Terran tradition?" Veylo said with a smirk.

"Exactly."

At that point, a smaller Terran with a larger nose and dressed in grey rather than blue approached the table. Tucker rolled his good eye as the man said, "Aren't you going to introduce me?"

"This is Malcolm Reed, our MACO commander. This is Traistana, a xenobiologist, and Veylo is a tactical officer."

"Very pleased to meet you," Reed said with a slight smirk in Tucker's direction.

"Why don't you sit down? The Captain did ask us to mingle."

"Indeed," Reed said with some venom as he eyed up Veylo. "I was just speaking with their Chief Engineer and his wife. Maybe you should say hello."

Snarling, Tucker shoved his sundae at Reed, almost covering the MACO with it, and left. "See you later."

Reed merely smirked and began his 'cultural examination' of Veylo.

Seeing 3 more Vissians, one of whom Tucker recognised, Tucker joined them without asking. "I'm told you're the Chief Engineer."

"Commander Tucker," said the male without hesitation. "Major Reed pointed you out. Please, sit down."

"Yeah."

"This is my wife, Calla."

The female said, "I'm glad you invited us here."

"Are you enjoying your food?"

"Oh, very much."

Leaning forwards, the apparently nameless engineer said, "I hope you get the chance to sample our food. It's more fragrant than yours."

This was it. It was time to acquire new technology for the Empire. "I look forward to it. I'd also like to get a peek at your engine room."

"By all means."

Tucker nodded and turned to face the one person who hadn't spoken. "Trip Tucker. Welcome aboard."

"Hello."

"It has no name," Calla explained. "It's our cogenitor."

"Cogenitor?"

"We're hoping to have a baby."

"Our warp core emits omicron radiation," the engineer said. "I'd recommend you speak with your doctor about an inoculation, though looking at you I'm not sure what he can do. Delta radiation?"

"If I have a baby myself, which I nearly did once believe it or not, he'll glow in the dark."

"FOOL!"

Tucker turned around, as did Reed. One of the Andorian crewmembers had just walked into a Vissian and his host, Sergeant Mayweather. The MACO gave the blue-skin a solid punch to the stomach. "Corporal Cutler, over here!"

Cutler, a small Terran MACO, rushed over and pinned the Andorian down. As she got him restrained and ready to take away for flogging, she said to the Vissian, "Our apologies for the conduct of our conscripts."

"No problem," said the alien. "So, Travis, what were you saying?"

Sitting the Vissian down at a vacant table, Mayweather said, "You were asking why we go out and conquer."

"Ah, yes, it was disturbing that you invaded and occupied so many more advanced planets in such a short time."

Ordering a Vulcan conscript to bring some drinks over, the MACO replied, "It is, though in fairness the Vulcans were trying to invade us, only to be stopped by the inventor of warp drive on our world. As for the others, we just found some groups who wanted power, gave them help, and so prop them up."

"But why?"

"The people of those worlds have spend years arguing over planets, everything. We just seek to bring order to chaos."

* * *

The dark zoo of sickbay was the domain of Pholx, a Denobulan research scientist who kept a number of creatures aboard as supplements for conventional medicine... and as delicacies. Rumours flew about what he did to captured Antarans. On this occasion though, all he did was give Tucker a blast with a hypospray. "This should do it."

"Hope it'll work better than for delta rays. So, you've heard of these cogenitors."

"Not all species are limited to two sexes. In fact, I have it on good authority that the Rigellians have four, or was it five? "

"So you're saying that this man or woman or whatever, is a third sex?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

Tucker's mind raced. "And she, it, is part of the impregnation process."

"Precisely," the Denobulan said with a massive smile.

Thinking of his time with T'Pol, Tucker said, "I'm pretty familiar with how it works with two sexes, but..."

"Multi-gendered techniques aren't always the same, but in this case I imagine the cogenitor provides an enzyme which facilitates conception. "

"What do you mean by provides?"

"You know, the female does what she has to, the male does what he has to, and the cogenitor adds some more. If you're interested, I can have one dissected later, perhaps without anaesthetic."

"Ah, right, doc. I'll just hope this treatment works better than everything else you've given me."

* * *

In the depths of the Vissian ship, a pulsing column gave life to the ship. Tucker and the Vissian engineer examined a variety of consoles. "The antimatter stream is compressed before the deuterium's injected into the core," he explained.

"So you don't need magnetic confinement."

"Let me bring up the schematics."

Tucker tried to process the information, and succeeded for the most part, but he had to say, "Where we come from, Earth, there are only two genders."

"That's true of most worlds."

"I don't mean to pry but, does every family have a cogenitor?"

The answer began with a laugh. "That wouldn't be very efficient. They are only needed when a couple's trying to have a child."

Now Tucker raised his good eyebrow. Something was wrong. "And when they're not?"

Going to another console, the engineer said, "The cogenitor is assigned to another couple. They make up about three percent of our population, which seems to be a perfect ratio. Nature has a way of finding the right balance."

"Is the one I met the only one on your ship?"

"The only one. Once Calla and I are finished with it, I doubt it'll be needed before we return home. Would you like to take a closer look at the plasma converters?"

Walking towards a row of glowing rods, Tucker said, "I would. Thanks. So, does it live with you and your wife?"

"We keep it in our quarters, yes."

"What does it do when you're not...?"

The engineer, bathed in the glow, said, "It eats, sleeps. There's not much else for it to do."

"What about school?"

"They only serve one purpose. Sending them to school would make no sense. Why are you so curious about them?"

Keeping his emotions in check, Tucker said, "Terrans are very curious."

"You might find this difficult to believe, but this polymer is composed of over two hundred naturally occurring elements."

"That's impossible."

"I read in your database that you've discovered only ninety two. I understand how this might seem unnerving."

"A lot of things around here do, but I'm trying to keep an open mind."

* * *

On top of the warp core that had poisoned him over time, Tucker looked down when his favourite conscript called up to him.

"Commander," T'Pol said.

"Archer left yet?"

"He'll be gone for three days."

Climbing down from the deadly reactor and giving the Vulcan a radiation meter, Tucker took a PADD from T'Pol.

"Captain Forrest asked that you download these films and transfer them to the Vissians' database."

"Did you meet their Engineer?"

"Briefly."

"He and his wife are trying to have a baby."

"How interesting."

"There was someone else with them. They called her a cogenitor. You know what that is?"

"A third gender. Why do you call it her?"

"Well, she looks more like a her than a him. They treat her like a pet, kept in her room, not taught to read or write, no name. Porthos has a name."

T'Pol bristled. Although she, as a Syrannite, had high status amongst the conscript crewmembers, she was still banned from various areas of the ship and had to toe the line even to Terrans she outranked. "It's not our place to judge the customs of other cultures until they're within the Empire."

Tucker realised he was condemning the Vissians enslaving a gender when the Terrans had enslaved whole races, including Vulcans. "We're not talking about taking your shoes off when you walk into someone's house. This cogenitor's treated like one of Phlox's leeches. You pull it out of its tank when you need it, then you throw it back in."

"Tri-gender reproduction is not uncommon."

"That's not what I'm talking about. This is a question of human rights."

T'Pol, despite her emotional control, had to stop herself laughing in Tucker's face. "They're not human. Captain Forrest hopes to develop a productive relationship with this species. It might be best you kept your opinions to yourself."

* * *

Back in sickbay, Phlox continued treating the flogged Andorian while saying to Tucker, "It's good advice. Mating habits are often quite personal. Some species aren't comfortable discussing them."

"I'm not interested in discussing their habits. I'm concerned with the way they treat this cogenitor."

"They're most likely one and the same."

"Yeah, well, that doesn't make it right."

Pointing at the remains of a dissected Paragaan without arms or a head, Phlox replied, "It's not a question of right or wrong."

"You scanned them when they came on board," Tucker said. He stepped out of the Andorian's way at he limped out. "Don't you always do that?"

"They weren't carrying any pathogens that would be dangerous to our crew."

"Is there anything you can tell me about the mental capacity of this cogenitor? Is it any different than the males and females?"

"I'm afraid I didn't take any neural scans."

"Is that something I could do?"

"Why would you want to?"

"Just curious."

"I suppose you could."


	2. Cogenitor 2

Back in the mess hall, Major Reed and the Vissian tactical officer Veylo continued tasting, or in some cases sniffing, Terran food. Some would say they were too close to each other. Regardless, Veylo had something to ask. "Can we visit the Armoury later? I'm anxious to see your tactical array."

"There's an old Earth expression. I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

The end result was that Veylo indeed got access to the armoury and all the weapons of the Terran Empire.

"Are these armed with photonic warheads?"

"Photonic? I'm not familiar with that."

"I'm afraid our weapons are somewhat more sophisticated than yours."

The Terran-centric pride of Reed was stung, but he replied,"This technology must seem pretty antiquated to you. We're working on that."

Stopping by a spatial torpedo, Veylo said, "Where I come from, antiquated can be very quaint."

"Is that how you see us? Quaint?"

Turning to the phase small arms, Veylo said, "And charming. What sort of power source do these use?"

"Sarium micro-cells. I suppose that's very quaint, too."

"Not at all. We charge our weapons the same way."

"Maybe you'd like to see the phase-cannon assembly."

"Please."

Reed unlocked the hatch and gestured to the Vissian. "After you." The fact her trousers were tight did not escape the Terran. "It has multiphasic emitters and a maximum yield of eighty gigajoules."

A few button pushes and down came the massive gun.

"Impressive."

"Being a proper warship, it's cramped in here."

"Great. I've wanted to get a little closer to you all day."

"Really?"

"I was hoping to spend some intimate time with you. Maybe we could sleep together tonight."

Reed stood up. In his haste, he hit his head on a pipe. "On Earth, it's customary to ask a woman to dinner first before spending the night with her

"It's very different on Vissia. It's only when a woman enjoys her intimate time with a man that she'll join him for dinner."

And so they kissed each other and then, in the spirit of the Terran Empire, did more.

* * *

The deformed mutant chief engineer of the _Enterprise_ met his Vissian counterpart later on. Apparently, he had to sniff his food as the Vissians did. "This must have taken you all day."

"If I had all day," Calla said, "I would have prepared a far more scented meal."

The engineer explained, "Calla's in charge of the Microgravity Lab. We usually don't have much time for cooking."

"Will your cogenitor be joining us?"

"It rarely eats more than one meal a day."

Tucker would have raised his left eyebrow if it was still there. "Oh, so in our mess hall..."

"Bringing a cogenitor to your ship was an exception," Calla said without hesitation.

"Too bad. I was hoping to say hello."

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Commander Tucker is very curious about our reproductive process. Humans are bi-gendered."

"I'll see if it's awake."

* * *

Sneaking away to the living quarters the next day, having established with Phlox that the cogenitor was just as intelligent as the other Vissians, Tucker held his breath. He rang the doorbell.

"They're not here," the third gender said.

"I came to see you."

"Why?"

Tucker held up his PADD. On it was an image of a figure in a red robe with a huge white bonnet. "I brought you this. It'll teach you how to read. Try it. Try it!"

"I don't understand."

"You just touch the word, then you'll hear it pronounced. Go ahead, try it."

At once, the mini-computer said, "We."

"That's right. Now go to the next one."

"We slept."

"Good. Again."

"Why are you doing this?" the cogenitor asked with sudden terror. "It's not right for me to read."

"Who told you that?"

"You shouldn't be here."

"You're as capable as they are. As smart as they are."

"That's not true. They need me to have children."

"It's not a question of what they need. You have the same rights, to learn, to choose your function, to have a name." Tucker realised the moment he finished how ridiculous what he said would sound to an alien and his expression didn't hide this.

"That may be true on your world but not on mine."

"When Calla gives birth, who's going to raise the baby? Who's going to take care of it?"

"They will," the cogenitor replied blankly.

"Why? You're just as crucial in creating the child as they are."

"You don't understand."

"Okay, maybe. But we took scans. My doctor says you have the same potential as they do. The only thing that sets you apart is your gender. You're no more different than they are from each other. Haven't you ever wished you could read? It won't hurt you, you know. There's nothing to be afraid of."

The cogenitor tapped the PADD again and it read out, "We slept in what had once been the gymnasium."

Several hours later and the cogenitor could now read the Vissian language. She was smiling, laughing. "The Didiron mountain range runs through the upper plains of the Great Continent."

"Amazing."

"The text describes far more impressive peaks."

"I don't mean the mountains, I mean your reading."

"The fauna and flora vary greatly on either side of the central plateau."

Rubbing his hands, Tucker said, "Look how much you've accomplished in a single day. And reading's just the tip of the iceberg. You could study all sorts of things. History, science. Engineering's not bad. You don't have to sit in this room all day."

"They would never let me learn those things."

"Then you've got to convince them. It's not just learning. It's experiencing things. Music, swimming in the ocean. You do have oceans on your planet?"

"Yes."

Grabbing the PADD and banging his fist on it, Tucker added, "And how about those Didiron Mountains? Reading about them is one thing, climbing them is another."

"I'd like to climb a mountain."

"There you go. That's the right attitude. You keep at it. I've got to get back. They think I'm at the Astrometrics lab. But I'll see you as soon as I can."

"Charles?"

"What?"

"I would like my name to be Charles."

"I'm flattered."

* * *

Now Tucker had really put his foot on it. Major Reed would love any excuse to haul him over hot coals (literally) and smuggling the cogenitor on board would really get the chief engineer in hot water (literally). As they walked along the metallic corridors, past the countless Terran Empire emblems of Earth in front of a sword, Tucker held the cogenitor close as they ducked and hid from both Terran crew and alien conscripts.

"Would you be punished if they find out you've brought me here?"

"Punished? I'd think a flogging, yes.."

"I would be punished."

"Maybe I should take you back."

"No, no, I want to see more."

"Okay. We'll just have to be sure no one spots us."

Tucker looked around a corner, saw a Vulcan, and signalled for the Vissian to wait. When the conscript had passed, Tucker waved the cogenitor forward.

Coming before a large, glowing chamber, Tucker said, "This is our transporter. It turns things into a matter stream that can be sent just about anywhere, within two thousand kilometres or so. Then it gets reassembled."

"Could it send a Vissian?"

"I don't see why not."

"I'd like to try."

"I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Could I see where you work?"

The left side of Tucker's head showed what it was like to work in engineering. Was it safe? "Sure. Follow me."

Several Jefferies Tubes later, Tucker and the cogenitor crawled out of a hatch on the upper level, away from the guards by the doors. "Coast is clear. That's our main engine. Fastest one in Starfleet. I've had it up to warp five point one. Stay away."

"I think my ship has something like this, but I've never seen it."

"Your ship has an engine that's a lot more sophisticated than this one. I would know, none of you have my problem."

"Do you live here?"

"No. My quarters are on B deck. No one would live here, no one deserves to live next to this thing. A necessary evil."

"You have a lot of strange people down here," said the cogenitor as it pointed towards various conscripts. "What's the hairy one?"

"That's a Tellarite. They're all trouble, all guilty of something. Come on, before you're fatally poisoned."

* * *

The next day, Captain Forrest summoned Tucker to the ready room. The first thing that happened was Corporal Cutler slamming the chief engineer into the wall, pinning him with her arm as Forrest spoke. "I've been told you're no longer welcome aboard the Vissian ship. Why?"

"I wasn't exactly where I was supposed to be."

"No, you weren't. You said you were going to a lab, but you weren't there. Then they tried their mess hall."

"I was with the cogenitor."

Now joining Cutler by punching Tucker in his sensitive deformed area, the captain demanded, "Where?"

At first, in her quarters. Actually, they're not her quarters. They belong to the Chief Engineer and his wife. She gets a room to sleep in, and if she's real good she can use their living space

Why were you there?

"I'm teaching her how to read."

"Why do you care about some alien's education?"

"What education?"

"Where else did you go?"

"I brought her here, gave her a little tour, showed her the warp core."

"Are you trying to disrupt my efforts? Is this a joke?"

"One day, that's all it took her. In one day she was reading a geography text."

"These first contacts are important to the Empire. Archer's trying his best in a pod and you're doing... what?"

"You're not listening to a word I'm saying, sir."

Cutler gave Tucker a kick to the groin. "Captain," she said, "may I deal with him?"

"Yes, Corporal. Get Phlox to help you."

* * *

Still feeling on fire from the treatment Phlox and Cutler had given him, Tucker sat by the lethal machine that he looked after even though it was killing him slowly. He'd spent some time calming down by giving his conscripts some rough treatment of his own, to the laughter of the Terran crew.

"Ahem," said the cogenitor.

"I didn't see you. How you doing? You all right?"

"They don't want to help me. They don't want me to climb mountains."

"Don't worry, they will. Give it time."

"They're angry with you. They'll leave as soon as our captain returns. They won't help me, but you can. I want to stay here, please."

* * *

After a roasting by Forrest (or rather a roasting by Cutler on behalf of Forrest), Tucker then had to face Commander Archer in the first officer's quarters. With Archer was T'Pol, an unusual pairing.

"Where is she?" Tucker's old friend asked.

"It's not exactly a she, sir."

"Where?"

"In my quarters."

Archer nodded, since that sentence had differing interpretations depending on the officer in question. "How long ago did this happen?"

"Last night after supper."

"They demanded that she be returned immediately," T'Pol said.

"I did exactly what you'd do, Commander. It's not like I had much choice. I wasn't going to just..."

"Will you excuse us, Commander?"

The Vulcan conscript left immediately.

Archer watched and then turned back to Tucker. "I might have expected something like this from a first-year recruit, but not you. You did exactly what I'd do? If that's true, then I've done a pretty lousy job setting an example around here and so has Captain Forrest. You're a senior officer on this ship. You're privy to the moral challenges we've had to face. You know we've wrestled with the fine line between doing what I think is right and interfering with other species. So don't tell me you know what I would have done when I don't even know what I would have done!"

"I didn't think it would hurt to teach her how to read."

"Then you didn't think hard enough. We're out here to gain new technology, not start pointless fights."

"Then why not let the rebel movement leave? We have their tech, we don't need to continue occupying them."

"Watch your tongue, Charles. I'll do my best to protect you, but this is really difficult. Sneaking into her quarters, bringing her on _Enterprise_ , lying about where you were going, why?"

Tucker said nothing.

"Come with me."

Dragged to his quarters, past the gloating of Major Reed, Tucker had to show the first officer the frightened cogenitor.

"You don't understand. I can't go back."

"Just until we resolve this."

"Charles said I have the same rights as they do."

"It's not our place to tell you what rights you have."

"I swear allegiance to the Terran Empire!"

Archer stopped, slack-jawed. The Vissian was now under the protection of the Emperor's forces against aliens.

* * *

Forrest and Archer met Drennik and the relevant Vissians up in the captain's mess. Sergeant Mayweather was there with his troops just in case.

"Some men," Drennik began, "can work together for years without creating the friendship and bond that we did in only two days. I'm certain we can resolve this. "

"Irrelevant," Forrest snapped. "In the Terran Empire, when someone swears allegiance it has to be given serious consideration."

"We're not in the Empire, and I doubt whether this person truly understood what your engineer was suggesting."

Stepping up, the first officer said, "I've been told this person is just as capable of understanding as any of you are."

"Why are we debating this?" the engineer demanded. "The cogenitor belongs on our ship. Or are you suggesting my wife and I abandon our plans to have a child?"

"We've been asked to give sanctuary to someone who wants to join us. We can't ignore that."

"Do you know how long we've waited to be given a cogenitor?"

"Given? You sound like you're talking about some inanimate object."

"You have no right to judge us. You know nothing about our culture. What if one of your conscripts should ask us for asylum?"

Rolling his eyes, Forrest said, "They're not forced to do anything. They're paid, those who come from worlds that still need money."

"I apologise. But it's easy to misunderstand someone when you know nothing about their culture."

"You can't expect me to ignore someone when they ask for my protection."

"We're in no rush to leave," the Vissian captain said. "Take your time. Consider what we've said."

* * *

 _Captain's Starlog January 26 2153. As a precaution, I have summoned the assault fleet as reinforcements should this turn ugly._

"I have granted the cogenitor asylum," Forrest said to Archer. Addressing the entire bridge crew, he said, "Tactical alert. Commander, set course to rendezvous with the assault fleet, maximum warp."

"Aye sir," Archer said. "Sir, the Vissians may be able to see reason."

"We'll talk when we have the fleet backing us up. Are they pursuing?"

"Yes," Major Reed said.

Pressing the intercom, Forrest said, "Tucker, since you caused this mess, how about you get our acceleration up?"

"I'll try," the engineer said by the lethal warp core.

The first torpedo came from the Vissian ship. "Hull plating holding," Reed said. "I talked with their tactical officer and got data on their systems."

"Good, Major. Return fire, shake them off."

4 spatial torpedoes flew out of _Enterprise_ and struck the other ship's engines. Although slowed, the explosions hadn't stopped the ship.

"How long to the assault fleet?" Archer asked.

"6 minutes," T'Pol said as a crewman was blown back by console explosion in the situation room.

"How fast are they?"

"Warp 3."

"Hoshi," Forrest demanded as sparks flew above his head, "tell them to speed up. Reed, continue fire!"

Blue streaks slid across the viewscreen, but it was no malfunction. Several Warp Deltas and the ISS _Intrepid_ had arrived. "Captain Ramirez is hailing," Hoshi said.

"Tell him to either destroy or capture that ship! No nonsense!"

"Aye sir."

Plasma cannons- a weapon Reed had not shown Veylo- opened up and orange pulses whizzed into the Vissian ship's engines. Fire's burst into existence and vanished instantly as more of the alien vessel fell apart. Ripe for capture, MACOs beamed aboard from the _Intrepid_ and _Enterprise_ , bringing the whole sorry affair to a close.

"All this because they wouldn't allow the cogenitor to read," Tucker said over the intercom as Starfleet prepared to tow the ship to a starbase and held the Vissians in their own cargo bays. "I'd say it serves them right, eh Commander?"

"I guess," Archer said.

"For once, I agree," Reed said. "Captain, may I have the Vissian tactical officer, Veylo, brought to my quarters later. We have a matter to discuss."

"Granted," Forrest said, smiling. "We have had a great victory today. We have gained new technology and protected an Imperial citizen from slavers." Tapping his fist on his chest and then reaching out, he said, "Long live the Empire!"

"Long live the Empire!" said the bridge crew.

T'Pol shook her head. The Terrans talked as though they were moral supremacy made manifest. Yes, they'd liberated the cogenitor, but so what when the Empire enslaved so many more?

"We will transfer the congenitor at the starbase," Forrest said. "Archer, set course, warp 3. Take pride in what you've all done here. Well done."


	3. Interlude

**While I try to work out what to do next and work on the other** ** _Star Trek_** **fanfics I have planned, I thought I'd quickly write this paragraph to cover an often overlooked** ** _Enterprise_** **character's mirror counterpart.**

 _ISS Enterprise NX-01_ had many crewmembers aboard, some more willing to be aboard than others, but few ever looked at the large man who was always in the steamy room by the mess hall. Of the senior staff, only First Officer Jonathan Archer and Communications Officer Hoshi Sato even bothered to visit him. Actually, correct that, Doctor Phlox visited him a lot too. In fact, today they had something to do with the Vissian engineer whose stubborn refusal to acknowledge his race's third gender as a sentient being led to a fight and the capture of the alien ship.

"He won't be having any children after this," Phlox said as he put down his knife amidst the screeching noises that came not from the 'patient' but from the countless creatures flying around the room. As always, he was in the zoo that passed for sickbay.

"The microgravity whatever won't either," Chef sneered. "No, I tried to get her to talk but she was so stubborn. I have the unique organs as you asked."

"Excellent. My wives and co-husbands will get the excellent news! What about the rest of... Calla?"

"Tender for the most part. I think I have enough to give the senior MACO's a special stew tonight."

"I'm sure Major Reed will be most pleased. If there's any leftovers, save some for me!"

Chef grinned brightly and licked his lips. "I'll see what I can do. There's plenty more Vissians aboard..."


	4. A Crisis on Earth 1

As the flagship of Starfleet and part of many dangerous missions, ISS _Enterprise's_ briefing room tended to be full. The same flags from World War 3 and before were there, and so were the exact same people. A group of people dressed in blue and grey waited for their captain and first officer.

One of the people in grey was Major Malcolm Reed, commanding officer of the Military Assault Command Operations team aboard Enterprise. As usual, he looked rather tense. "It must be something pretty serious."

The chief engineer, deformed by delta radiation, was next to enter. Tugging his blue Starfleet uniform, he asked, "What's going on?"

"The Captain wants to talk to us," Reed said without looking at his archenemy.

"About what?"

"He's speaking to Admiral Black," said the one person who otherwise knew everything Captain Forrest knew. Lieutenant Hoshi Sato added, "It's the third time in the last hour."

"Well, something's obviously up."

A war criminal named Doctor Phlox then commented, "I can't remember the last time he asked me to join the senior staff for a briefing."

"Maybe it has something to do with Veylo," Reed suggested, to some laughter amongst the crew. Then the doors opened.

First Officer Archer was the first to enter alongside one of the MACOs, Corporal Elizabeth Cutler. Sergeant Travis Mayweather then ushered in Maximilian Forrest. The balding commanding officer paused for a moment and then told the crew, "There's been an attack on Earth

Tucker was the first to speak. "What do you mean, attack?"

"A probe," said Archer. "They don't know where it came from. It fired a weapon that cut a swath four thousand kilometres long from Florida to Venezuela. There may have been a million casualties."

"A million?"

"We've been recalled."

"Did they say why?"

"I didn't ask," said Forrest.

Behind Forrest, the usually quiet Mayweather helpfully pointed out, "It'll take a while to get back, sir."

A summons from the bridge sent everyone to their stations. Admiral Black was calling again.

"Understood," said the captain. "Set a course, Archer. Warp five."

* * *

In the capital city of Vulcan, the people woke up to see Terran Starfleet soldiers and MACOs patrolling in addition to the usual Vulcan High Command troops. Whenever someone asked what happened, they got the same reply: "Away!"

Koss, a young architect, was one of those Vulcans. "T'Les," he told his companion, "We should go."

The older Vulcan, who was an instructor at the Science Academy and the mother of Koss' fiance, shook her head. "I'm a Syrrannite. They'll let me through."

"Stop! Move back!" shouted a Starfleet officer.

Koss had never seen a Terran before that day. Before that day, most Vulcans would never see a Terran in their day-to-day lives. Now they were everywhere. Koss obeyed.

T'Les did not. "I am a Syrrannite!"

"Not enough. Move back!"

The mother of T'Pol saw the emotion in the Terran. She'd realised that the driving emotion of Earth was not arrogance or greed, but something more primal. The Terrans didn't want another World War on their planet. They did not want to be the subjects of anyone again. They were scared. The Terran Empire was an empire of fear. "It's..."

 _VOOL!_

Koss jumped back from the smoking body of T'Les. He looked at the Terran and saw she was now aiming at him. "Move back."

The architect left. As Admiral Gardner had ordered Captain Hernandez, any Vulcan who wasn't in the High Command who approached the High Command building was to be turned away at gunpoint. 5 disobeyed. 5 died.

* * *

"This was going to happen," Reed muttered to himself in his quarters. "This was always going to happen. Someone went too far."

"You think?" asked a slow, strained voice.

The Major sneered and looked at his cupboard. "Capturing your mongrel race's ship wasn't not going too far, Veylo. The whole Empire thinks you Vissians are disgusting."

"Open the door and tell me to my face!"

Reed this just that. As always, he was ready for the blond alien to jump him and as always she was still chained up. "Your treatment of your cogenitors condemns you. Even the Tellarites agree with us. You kept them inside, forbade them to have their own names, and didn't even allow them the pleasure of reading. You are just like the traitors in that book Tucker showed you. Remember, slave, I saved your life by sheltering you here."

"What, so I wasn't dissected or served as stew?"

"Those rumours are unconfirmed, and I hope they're not true because I had some very strange stew after finishing with you lot. Most of your crew except senior staff were returned to Vissia alongside our assault fleets. Your time in my cupboard is almost over."

Veylo snorted and turned away. "And then what? What will you do now you've got all I know about weaponry and let all your friends and Tucker play with me?"

Reed turned her head back around. "Join Starfleet, return to Vissia, jump out of the airlock, I don't care. We have a crisis here and if you interfere, you'll spend the next decade in my cupboard."

* * *

Archer had chosen a particular spot on E Deck as his quarters as it gave him an excellent view of the ship by the deflector. Behind him, his attack dog Porthos slept. Someone had attacked the home of the Terran Empire. Already, the core worlds of Denobula, Vulcan, Andoria, and Tellar were in lockdown. Starfleet, MACO, the Imperial Cargo Service, and the Terran Empire Space Probe Agency had taken direct control of each world. The Vulcan High Command and the Andorian Imperial Guard were shown to be the puppets everyone knew them to be. The rage of Earth would only abate when someone was punished.

 _BEEP!_

"Come in."

"Excuse me, Commander," said a rather sombre Tucker.

"Commander."

"When you two spoke to Admiral Black, did he say what part of Florida was hit?"

"No, I'm sorry."

"She may have been away. Architects take a lot of trips."

The first officer wondered in his mind why Tucker was telling him this rather than Forrest. Yes, all of them had worked on the NX Project together. Yes, Tucker had been closer to Archer, with Captain Forrest having considered someone else for chief engineer. Was this a sign Tucker considered him a friend? "Older or younger?"

"My baby sister. When we were in school I made sure all the boys in her class got a good look at me. None of them ever messed with her."

"Maybe she was away."

Tucker thought it over. He shook his head. "Anything you can tell me about what the Admiral said?"

"The number of casualties has been revised. It's up to three million."

"Why would someone do this?" Tucker said. He realised why someone would do this immediately. The Terran Empire had plenty of enemies.

 _BEEP!_

In came the senior alien aboard, Commander T'Pol. She ignored the way Tucker stood behind her very close, almost to the point of touching. "I spoke with Captain Forrest. A TESPA ship located the pod in central Asia. They retrieved it and brought it to Starfleet Headquarters."

"What do they know?"

"Very little. There was a pilot, killed on impact."

Whispering in the conscript science officer's ear, Tucker asked, "Who the hell was he? What species?"

"They don't know."

"They say anything about what part of Florida was hit?"

"No."

"Tucker's sister lives in Florida," Archer pointed out.

The tactical alert alarms blared as soon as Archer finished the last syllable. It turned out there were 8 Suliban ships approaching at high warp.

* * *

"They're not responding," said Hoshi as she fiddled with her bridge station.

"Try again," said a frustrated Forrest.

The lights went off. The lights came back on. Archer was no longer at the helm or on the bridge at all.

"Commander!" Reed shouted.

Forrest's fists slammed into the sides of his chair. "When will you Temporal Cold War scum remember that I am the Captain of _Enterprise_ , not Archer!"

"Sir, are you angry that you don't keep getting abducted?"

* * *

Inside the reddish cell ship, Archer oriented himself and then snarled when he saw a green, scaly humanoid enter.

"There's someone who needs to speak with you," Silik told him.

"Silik! I knew you'd have something to do with this."

"Do with what?"

"Millions of people. You killed millions of people!"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

Archer was up and nose-to-nose with the Suliban instantly. He was ready to punch him to death.

"That wouldn't be wise, Commander."

"What the hell am I doing here?"

"There's someone who needs to speak with you. He has information you should find helpful. Don't worry, you won't be harmed."

"Information about what?"

"Something to do with your species. It's in great danger."

Archer nodded and tugged his Sam Browne Belt. He then strolled into another chamber where a shadowy figure stood motionlessly.

"Your planet was attacked," said the Humanoid Figure.

"I'm aware of that."

"What you're not aware of is why. The probe was sent by the Xindi. They learned that their world would be destroyed by Terrans in four hundred years."

Archer rolled his eyes and looked at Silik. "How would they know what's going to happen in four hundred years?"

"They were told by people from the future. People who can communicate through time."

"Are they the ones the Suliban are working for?"

"The Suliban work for me."

"So you're the one who tried to start a civil war in the Klingon Empire, the one who's manipulated our mission from day one."

"The people who have contacted the Xindi belong to another faction. The probe was only a test. The Xindi are building a far more powerful weapon. When it is completed, they will use it to destroy Earth."

"Annihilate us before we can annihilate them. Why are you telling me this?"

"The Xindi were not supposed to learn of their future. If they deploy this weapon, it will contaminate the timeline. You must not let that happen."

Archer jumped forward, almost nose-to-nose with the projection. "Why should I believe you?"

"You have no choice but to believe me."

* * *

 _Captain's Starlog, April 24th, journey home has been very difficult. We've now learned that over seven million people were lost._

Earth's sun was the first thing the bridge crew saw. Was there any way to spoil the moment?

"A vessel's dropping out of warp," said Reed.

Forrest turned around. "Where?"

"Two hundred kilometres off port," said Archer.

"Who are they?"

 _DING! DING!_ "They've fired some kind of..." began Reed.

The bridge swung to one side. A few sparks flew around and the lights flickered.

"That one took out both forward phase cannons."

"Torpedoes!" shouted Forrest.

T'Pol raised an eyebrow as she got a good look at the hostile. "It's a Klingon bird of prey."

Another blast rocked the bridge. The nacelles on the displays flashed red.

"They want Commander Archer," said Hoshi. "They're saying they won't destroy _Enterprise_ if you surrender to them. Archer's an enemy of the Empire. He must be brought to justice if honour's to be regained."

"Our assault fleet is coming," said Reed.

On the viewscreen, the Warp Deltas and ISS _Intrepid_ swooped on the Klingon ship and gave it everything they had. The Bird-of-Prey ran off.

"It's Captain Ramirez, sir, on the _Intrepid,_ " Hoshi announced.

An image of the other captain appeared. "What the hell was that all about?"

"A Klingon named Duras," said Forrest. "He has a grudge against my first officer."

"Welcome home, Captain. I wish it was under better circumstances."

Suddenly, the crew got a glimpse of Earth. A huge scar went from North to South America. A huge scar...

* * *

Tucker stared with growing horror. Up close, the scar was worse. If the water hadn't been blocked off, there'd be a huge, deep river. Instead, there was just ruins.

"I regret this has happened to you," said T'Pol. Both officers were in civilian clothes, which meant the Vulcan female felt unusually warm.

"The house was over there. Less then a kilometre. See over there?"

T'Pol, who was only allowed on Earth because Tucker had appealed to Forrest and Archer, glanced down at a wreck by the edge.

"That was the old movie theatre," Tucker explained. "When we were kids, if I didn't take my sister with me she'd scream like a banshee."

"Perhaps she was elsewhere at the time."

"Someone would have heard from her."

* * *

Despite commanding 20 marines and Starfleet soldiers, Reed sometimes got the impression that he, Sergeant Mayweather, and Corporal Cutler were the only MACOs aboard _Enterprise_. Regardless, they weren't on _Enterprise_ but rather in central London. As always, Regent Street's tall buildings had Sword-Earth flags hanging between them over the road. They were also in civilian clothes, though all 3 had stuck with drab and utilitarian. "This place is calm," said Cutler. "You'd think there wasn't an emergency."

"Of course it's calm, it's British," said Reed. "We're just coming to All Souls..."

"What's happening over there?" asked Mayweather, pointing towards a crowd building near a park.

The MACOs rushed across the street, stopping in their tracks. There was shouts of "Death to xenos!" and "Purge the unclean!"

Someone had thrown a rope over a lamppost. At the bottom of the rope was a struggling Tellarite.

"Sir?" Mayweather whispered.

"Is that creature one of ours?" asked Cutler.

"Not as far as I can tell," said Reed. "Anyway, we were coming to All Souls Church. I find this an excellent example of monotheistic architecture..."

"I hope Phlox is alright," said Cutler. "Where is he?"

"You really like him, don't you? He's in San Fransisco, in Starfleet Command. Safe. Anyway, look at this memorial for World War 3. If you look closely..."

The other MACOs were too polite to tell Reed at any point through the tour that they weren't interested. They heard police sirens whilst inside, along with gunshots and shouting. "The police must have saved the Tellarite," said Cutler.

"Isn't that what we should have done?" asked Mayweather.

"We're military, not police," Reed replied.

The moment they got out, Cutler blurted, "Major, where's Veylo?"

"Up on _Enterprise_ , Corporal."

" _Enterprise_ is deserted."

"So it is. Oh dear."


	5. A Crisis on Earth 2

"Doctor, don't go out!" shouted Hoshi when she saw Phlox wander past the marble walls towards the front door of Starfleet Command.

"What's the matter, Lieutenant?"

"It's dangerous out there. San Francisco's people are taking out their anger on aliens. It's happening all over Earth, even in Britain."

Phlox smiled widely, much wider than a Terran could, and brought around Commander Archer's Rottweiler. "If anyone bothers me, I'll have Porthos kill them."

"Doctor!"

"Please! Archer's dog is well known. Upset Porthos, upset Archer."

"Phlox!" yelled the familiar voice of Captain Forrest. "We're done here. Give Jon back his dog. As for you, Lieutenant..."

"Understood," whispered Hoshi, who also gave the captain a wink.

"Here, boy," Archer said as Porthos leapt into his arms.

* * *

Shuttlepods were small, confined spaces. Forrest and Archer had no way to avoid talking to each other. It took a while though, as the pair tried to get around what happened as Admiral Black agreed to sent _Enterprise_ to a chaotic region of space, the Delphic Expanse.

As they passed a ship near-identical to _Enterprise_ , Archer said, "The NX-02."

"She'll be ready to launch in the year, and the other 8 we've laid down."

"A long time."

"Hopefully we'll be back well before then."

"Hopefully." It was no use, Archer had to say it. "I apologise for my outburst, sir."

"It was an outburst, Commander. You know that I still hadn't earned my rank back, and I won't for a long time."

"I was just trying to do you a favour."

Forrest, shook his head, grinning. "Trying to get my ship, more like. You weren't told where in this Expanse we were supposed to look."

"Not even a hint."

"This weapon they're building, did he say how long it was going to take them?"

"I didn't think he would have warned us if we didn't have a chance of stopping them."

* * *

Reed tapped his PADD again, looking over the rectangular boxes newly delivered whilst trying not to to look at his enemy. "Photonic torpedoes. Their range is over fifty times greater than our conventional torpedoes, and they have a variable yield. They can knock the comm. array off a shuttlepod without scratching the hull or they can put a three kilometre crater into an asteroid."

"How long is it going to take to reconfigure the tubes?" Tucker asked.

"We've got three teams working on it. They promise me it'll be done before we leave Spacedock, but I've got to start integrating them into the power grid."

"Let's go."

"Tactical alert," called Archer's voice over the intercom. "All hands, general quarters. Authorised personnel to the mess hall only."

"Major!" shouted Forrest, who had arrived in the armour in person. "Your pet Vissian escaped and is now holding the catering staff hostage."

"Sorry, sir," Reed said. "I'll get on it."

"She's demanding you come in person. She has demands, we don't know what."

"Sir."

It was a long way from the armoury to the mess hall. He saw that Archer was waiting outside with Porthos. The dog looked desperate to rip someone apart. When Reed got in, he saw that Veylo had put on a MACO uniform and had a phase pistol to Chef's head. "Put it down."

"Not likely, Malcolm," the Vissian snarled. "I want to get off this ship and get passage to Vissia!"

"You could have just left then. The airlocks are still open, the ship's still docked."

"I'm not allowed, no one..."

 _TIYAROO!_

Reed's head whipped around only to see that the one who'd stunned Veylo was Tucker, of all people. "Thank you, Charles."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Tie her up," Reed told Chef. The major was clearly holding back tears. "Put her somewhere prominent. Tell the crew they can do what they like to her just as long as she's dead by the time we leave Spacedock."

Every Starfleet officer drew their knives...

* * *

2 hours later, the umbilical cords of Spacedock fell away from _Enterprise_. The blue glow of the impulse engines came on as Archer guided the starship out to start its quest. In the mess hall some time later, he and Tucker sat alone.

"It's bad enough one of us is up in the middle of the night," Archer said as he sipped his whiskey.

Tucker responding by pouring himself a lot of alcohol. "How's Porthos holding up? If no people have returned from the Delphic Expanse, I doubt any dogs have."

"He must be doing better then we are. He's fast asleep."

"Yeah. To Henry Archer. I wonder what he would have thought if he knew his engine was gonna help save the human race."

"When I got this job, piloting the first warp five ship was about as big as a responsibility as I could imagined. Then, we began running into so many bad guys, and we had to start thinking more about the safety of eighty three people."

"And now the stakes have gotten a lot bigger."

"Weight of the world, Charles."

"Literally. I can't wait to get in there, Commander, and find the people who did this. I'll make them wish their species went extinct centuries ago!"

"We'll do what we have to do, Charles. Whatever it takes."

"What happened in here after I left?"

Archer shook his head and turned to the spot Veylo had been left. "It was gross and obscene. If it's immoral for the Vissians or the traitors in that book to do it, it's immoral for us to do it as well. I put her out of her misery, with some help from Porthos."

"I always say Reed's disgusting."

* * *

 _Enterprise_ had just beaten off another attack by Duras. The new photonic torpedoes with their antimatter warheads had sent the Klingon packing once more.

 _Captain's starlog, supplemental. We've been travelling at warp five for seven weeks. The crew is anxious to begin our mission._

On the bridge, a purple haze began to appear on the viewscreen. Archer kept an eye on his console as the rest of the crew stared in amazement.

"Distance?" asked Forrest.

"Nearly a million kilometres," Archer replied.

From his station, Tucker said, "Looks a hell of a hell of a lot closer than that."

"A common mistake when viewing something of this size," T'Pol helpfully added.

"Magnify," Forrest ordered. The resulting image was yet more swirly stuff.

"Not very helpful," sneered Tucker.

"It's that dense all the way through," Forrest said.

Still reading all kinds of data on the helm screen, Archer said, "The Expanse is surrounded by thick layers of thermobaric clouds. When a Vulcan ship went in, it took them almost six hours to get through it. Anything on long range sensors?"

"Nothing beyond the perimeter," T'Pol reported.

"Increasing to point two impulse," Archer said without input from Forrest. "Let's head in."

* * *

Not one but three Birds-of-Prey stalked _Enterprise_ as she struggled through the Expanse. Forrest just told Duras where to go.

"The perimeter clouds are dissipating," T'Pol reported. "I'm detecting clear space ahead."

"It's why Duras wants us to come about," Archer said. "He's afraid of the Expanse. Increasing speed."

The Imperial starship then found itself nearly alone. Two Birds-of-Prey had broken off, giving in to the fear the Klingons had of the Expanse. The Terrans continued regardless.

"Only one left ,sir," Reed said.

"Keep firing," Forrest ordered.

T'Pol glanced down at her monitor. "The Expanse is less than five minutes away."

"Maybe he'll turn around like his friends." said a hopeful Tucker.

"Unlikely," Forrest replied. He looked at the MACO commander and said, "Your new torpedoes aren't having the same effect as last time."

"Duras has transferred his aft shields forward. Our weapons can't penetrate them."

"We just lost three antimatter injections, Captain," shouted the chief engineer. "Any more and we're in big trouble."

"If he's transferred his shielding forward," Archer said as more sparks flew everywhere, "what's protecting his stern?"

"Does it matter? He's chasing us."

"The stern?" Forrest demanded.

"Minimal shielding," said T'Pol.

"I can pull off an L4 at this speed," the first officer said.

"Do it, Commander," said the captain.

"I'll look for the densest cloud formation I can find."

"Captain Forrest to all hands, hold on!"

Archer found a huge black blob. Perfect. "Looks good to me."

Up zoomed _Enterprise_. In the blob, it should have remained invisible to sensors.

The Bird-of-Prey continued forward, unawares.

Down came _Enterprise_.

Forrest only had one word to say. "Fire."

Two torpedoes shot forth. The Bird of Prey collapsed in on itself as _Enterprise_ carried on regardless.

"Well done, Jon," said the captain.

"I'd like to do that more often, sir."

"The Expanse is ahead, Captain," said Hoshi.

Forrest nodded and turned to the mutant. "Did you lose any more of those injectors?"

"No, sir," said Tucker. "We're good to go."

"Forrest to all hands. Once more, we're going into battle. This battle will last a good year but be assured we will find those who defiled Earth and we will punish them. Long live Earth! Long live the Empire!"

In it's year away from the Terran Empire, ISS _Enterprise_ found the Xindi. Commander Archer convinced 3 of the Xindi races to ally with Captain Forrest after finding evidence that the Xindi's Guardians were the same people as the Sphere Builders who'd been wreaking havoc across the Delphic Expanse. _Enterprise_ and its allies fought to stop the launch of the Xindi weapon, but in the end they had to fly to Earth, where a large Starfleet assault fleet waited to destroy the weapon. Commander Archer went missing and _Enterprise_ found itself in the 20th century in an alternate timeline. After restoring the proper timeline and being reassured by Terran Empire Agent Daniels that the Temporal Cold War was over, _Enterprise_ returned home having saved Earth, but also finding that a combination of increasing Imperial harshness and the confusion on Earth led to some groups of Tellarites, Vulcans, and Andorians forming a rebellion. Meanwhile, Starfleet decided it still would not give Forrest his rank back nor give Archer a promotion, even though they were putting Archer's old friend Erika Hernandez in command of ISS _Columbia_ NX-02. It also rejected Archer's suggestion that Forrest be at least promoted to Commodore and him to Captain. In the midst of this new war, _Enterprise_ led the 10 new NX-class starships into battle to put down the rebellion or die trying.

 **Apologies if this looks rushed. It is!**


End file.
